August 2025 Vol 7 Issue 8
Tell Your Story Newsletter (TYSN):
Teaching English as a Second Language to Economic Immigrants
Let us help you tell your story!
| Welcome Mid-August 2025!
And just like that, the spring and much of summer 2025 have passed like the steady current of the South Saskatchewan River, under one of our city’s many bridges.
Summer is often called “festival season” in Saskatoon. As some of these festivals indicate (such as Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan; Saskatoon Fringe Festival; and Word-on-the-Street), summer is definitely a time for leisure reading and performance!
As you know, in the current economy and tariff-ridden times, independent booksellers continue to struggle to compete with conglomerates like Amazon, Indigo and Barnes & Noble.
But our locally owned stores far better support Saskatchewan authors (Turning the Tide, Peryton Books, Pages of Passion Bookstore, Westgate Books and McNally Robinson).
These independent booksellers are the ones to offer community readings by local writers, staff recommendations and consultations for reading, all in distinctive and personalized settings.
These stores are a lifeline for authors and readers alike, because reading fiction can help us to learn languages, history and gain other knowledge, as well. My friend, the novelist Lesley Bens, once said that the best way to learn history was to read well-researched biographies of those who lived in a particular era and region. And where better to find a good biography than at an independent bookstore or (more rarely) at a library that houses books, in-person?
Now with developments in AI intensifying our practice of learning digitally, we can educate ourselves as “independent scholars” or readers–even apart from our country’s school and university system.
I have met people, by sharp contrast, who proudly claim to have read no more than five books in their lifetimes! Although they’re likely exaggerating, their grasp of the English language is (needless to say) inadequate. (One had a degree in political studies but could not define a noun!)
In this month’s issue, the celebrated Turkish-English novelist, Elif Shafak, “pushes back on the idea that people no longer read novels” and reminds us what we gain by reading fiction, in particular.
And in “Shop News,” I thank various folk in my entrepreneurial network who have helped me by suggesting titles for reading and strategies for teaching language (ESL) through literature.
And beyond those I mention there, I send thanks to mentors, colleagues and students whose meetings and/or postings on Linkedin, Instagram and Facebook share their reading and learning with others.
As we approach the wistful “dog days of summer,” good readers, I urge you (and me!) to read some more riveting fiction, with the value and refreshment it can bring to us–body, mind and spirit.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shih
Principal
Storytelling Communications
www.elizabethshih.com |
IN THIS ISSUE:
ARTICLE ONE: Can reading literature teach us language?
SHOP NEWS
ABOUT US
Main Article: Can reading English literature help to teach you the English language? Elif Shafak weighs in . . . .
In this newsletter that is devoted to local entrepreneurship and, in particular, to English language learning (ESL/EFL), I’m delighted to share that even in these digital days when social media and other distractions have reduced our attention spans, Canadians continue to read books of fiction.
A poll from the reliable BookNet Canada (a not-for-profit that tries to address systemic challenges in the publishing industry), cites that in 2024, 78% of Canadians read at least one book. Only 247 out of 1247 respondents (i.e. under 20%) reported not reading (or listening to) fiction.
Earlier, in 2007, Ipsos Reid (in a survey for CanWest News Service and Global Television) reported that 69% of Canadians had listened to an audiobook in the past year.
Last May (2025), by contrast, the Turkish-English novelist, Elif Shafak, noted–and then disputed–the perspective that reading fiction in the UK is a dying activity.
In The Guardian, she wrote, “A recent YouGov [public opinion] poll [in 2024] found that 40% of Britons have not read a book in the last year.” This surprising statistic, Shafak says, might be taken as evidence for the “prophecy” of the late American novelist, Philip Roth, who wrote in 2000 that ” ‘The literary era has come to an end.’ ”
Roth believed that the mental habit required to read literature was disappearing. People in the 21st-Century, he said, would soon lack the concentration and solitude needed to read novels.
(Britons’ apparently dwindling interest in fiction reflects nothing about their simultaneous reading of history, politics, economics and international relations through newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, “The Economist,” The London Review of Books, and many more.)
It’s tempting to believe pessimists like Roth. For instance, Shafak acknowledges that polls show the “average time . . . a person [in the UK] can focus on one thing has dropped in recent decades from approximately 2.5 minutes to about 45 seconds.” Yikes.
But she cautions that not all surveys reflect a full cross-section of English readers. Shafak wants “to push back on the idea that people no longer read novels.” There are still 60% of Britons who had read at least one novel in the 2024 YouGov survey.
She writes: “The same YouGov poll shows that among those who read, more than 55% prefer fiction. Talk to any publisher or bookseller and they will confirm it: the appetite for reading novels is still widespread. That the long form endures is no small miracle in a world shaped by hyper-information, fast consumption and the cult of instant gratification.”
And at literary festivals and gatherings in the UK (e.g. at Hay-on-Wye), Shafak writes, “there are noticeably more young men attending … It seems to me that the more chaotic our times, the deeper is our need to slow down and read fiction. In an age of anger and anxiety, clashing certainties, rising jingoism and populism, the division between ‘us’ and ‘them’ also deepens. The novel, however, dismantles dualities.”
These effects of reading fiction help us to develop true literacy, in the form of diverse, well-reasoned and defensible thought in our communities.
For this reason, I am always happy to introduce my ESL students to fiction written in English, such as on literary websites like “english-e-reader.net.” Yes, Stephen King stories are there, but so are titles from Joseph Conrad and George Orwell. Having a common literary text to analyze provides a concrete (not abstract) way for students to learn to listen, speak, read and write better.
And it works! Literary resources spark cognition and creativity in students (of all ages). Several weeks ago, after earlier wondering how to reach a native-speaking youth who lacked English writing skills, I was relieved to witness this truth unfold.
Virginia Woolf once wrote: “The art of writing has for a backbone some fierce attachment to an idea.” Literature remains our richest source of good, useful, mind- and life-enhancing ideas.
So I contend the best and kindest way to teach English literacy (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is to read and discuss novels (fiction). When one can read a literary text closely (as if one were to write a review or essay on it), the mechanics of the English language turn from abstractions into hands-on tools, so that suddenly language feels grounded and usable, even to a novice.
Furthermore, the book continues to live, since book culture is still growing, including by our consumption of ebooks and audiobooks (often read by famous actors like Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Richard Armitage, to name only a few).
We also find that the culture of promoting literature may “hook” more readers. For instance, the American novelist Ann Patchett films charming video reviews of fiction over TikTok (complete with pets), out of the independent store, Parnassus Books, in Nashville, Tennessee:
https://www.tiktok.com/@parnassusbooksnashville/video/7531049374407806239
And the network, “Goodreads” (a popular website, long called “Facebook for readers”), sees novelists as diverse as Anne Lamott and Elizabeth George writing reviews, ranking and recommending novels, as well as other genres.
The popularity and usefulness of these resources suggest that our reading of fiction is anything but dead.
“We live in an era where there is too much information but not enough knowledge,” writes Shafak. “For knowledge we need books, slow journalism, podcasts, in-depth analyses and cultural events. And for wisdom . . . we need the art of storytelling. We need the long form.”
“The art of storytelling [is] older and wiser than we are,” Shafak says (which spurred me to rename my business “Storytelling Communications” six years ago).
“Reading novels—long-form stories about other people”, Shafak concludes, “teaches us to become human.”
And what could be more fundamental to teaching literacy and the English language than that?
And now it’s your turn: How often do you read fiction? What would you say has it taught you?
Please write in; I’d be delighted to hear back from you.
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SHOP NEWS:
I’m glad to share this month that I have been working (for the first time) with a youth who is a native speaker, but also a literacy student, thanks to a referral from the community.
Reading young adult fiction like Quebecois Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater” and other titles with my student has proven that reading literature (student and teacher) together is the best and kindest way to teach English literacy.
It may sound (and is) indirect, but when a student finds a good “fit” with a literary text, that book or short story becomes a very powerful vehicle for learning. (Does anyone remember being enraptured in high school by W.O. Mitchell’s Who Has Seen the Wind?)
Special thanks are therefore due to retired teacher, Sharon Wiseman, whose experience teaching literacy students from K-12 has been invaluable to me, as has been her awareness of relevant, young adult fiction.
Thank you, Sharon, for sharing your insights and advice with me on how to teach youth!
Although teaching adults ESL/EFL remains my focus (and where my training lies), supporting native speakers who are learning to become more literate is also very worthwhile. It supports the next generation of (youth) readers in our community, regardless of race, class, gender and education level.
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On another note altogether, for many years I’ve used this space also to thank colleagues and friends who have helped me navigate SK’s senior healthcare system for my aging mother, who passed away nearly four months ago.
I’m delighted to share that I’m gradually recovering from caregiver’s burnout and look forward to my mother’s memorial next week, as a time when friends and family can say “good-bye.”
For his support in leading this service, I thank Rev. Roberto DeSandoli, Teaching Elder at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, for attending to even minute details of the memorial service with compassion and care;
Thank you to Dani Van Driel, who shepherded two parents through their last years, and so has been an insightful, faithful and very helpful friend;
My aunt, Liz Barker, of Penticton, BC, has corresponded with me during trying times in everyday life, and despite her own heavy caregiving duties;
Laura VanLoon has kindly agreed to provide a eulogy when my family and I lack the strength to do it. Laura thereby continues to honour my mother’s life by helping all of us to lay it to rest;
Rev. Jim and Mrs. Lillian McKay have shared the most reassuring and supportive of phone calls during days of busyness and challenges, on both sides;
Beth and Jo-Anne Brimner,
have offered friendship that has brightened some dreary days, based on shared faith and laughter;
Lesley Bens generously and graciously hosted a visit to her beautiful garden this month, even when she has long shouldered the failing health of several close family members;
With her skills as a novelist and reader, Lesley also shared with me an 8th-century prayer of St. Alcuin of York that I had not read, but which has become an anchor for my mother’s memorial service.
Thank you, Lesley!
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And thanks to you, good readers, for continuing to read and reflect on this mid-month newsletter, so many (14) years in production.
As always, I’m grateful to receive your comments and suggestions for future issues!
There are always new people to thank and new stories to share: please send me yours for future issues!
But for now, this is a wrap for mid-August!
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ABOUT US:
Between 2011 and December 2018, Elizabeth Shih Communications chronicled the stories of B2B marketing and communications on the Prairies and across the country.
Effective January 1, 2019, I rebranded as “Storytelling Communications.”
I have since helped economic immigrants to secure better jobs or gain larger contracts by improving their language skills; and I help major companies write their legacy stories.
Interested in learning more? Please contact me through my website:
(www.storytellingcommunications.ca).
After I receive your message, I’ll be pleased to discuss projects with you!
Please visit my website for more information (www.storytellingcommunications.ca).
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Published by www.storytellingcommunications.ca – Storytelling Communications – Fifth Ave. North. Saskatoon, SK, Canada. S7K 5Z9 Copyright © 2025. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please click below.
